Wheels & Deals: Roush Fenway Shopping For No. 16 Sponsor

Ameriquest Seeking To Get Out Of Sponsorship Deal With Roush Fenway Racing

Ameriquest has asked Roush Fenway Racing “to sell off the final two years” of its contract to serve as primary sponsor of the No. 16 Nextel Cup Ford driven by Greg Biffle, which expires in ’09, according to NASCAR.com’s David Caraviello. Ameriquest’s “struggling parent company recently announced a second round of layoffs,” and Ameriquest last week ended its ballpark naming rights deal with the MLB Rangers. Roush Fenway President Geoff Smith: “I don’t think anybody saw the radical ways that the mortgage business was going to deteriorate, and all the financial consequences of that. It was very abrupt. ... But we’ve got lots of time, and there’s lots of sponsor interest, so I think we’ll be able to work it out just fine” (NASCAR.com, 3/25). Roush Fenway must drop one of its five Nextel Cup teams by 2010 to comply with NASCAR rules limiting ownership to four Cup teams, and Smith said that “driver and sponsor agreements go through the 2009 season.” All other Nextel Cup teams currently meet NASCAR’s rule (ROANOKE TIMES, 3/25). Team co-Owner Jack Roush “expects to sell one of his five cars to another team” (USA TODAY, 3/26).

GET OUT OF DODGE? Dodge Dir of Motorsports Mike Accavitti said that Dodge “plans to continue its involvement in NASCAR, even if parent company Chrysler were sold.” An investment analyst on Saturday reported that “bidding had started on the Chrysler Group.” Accavitti: “There are some things that are going on, but it’s not going to affect our racing program” (USA TODAY, 3/26). More Accavitti: “We find value here; it helps us sell cars, and it’s our intention to stay involved in NASCAR. ... Under any scenario, we see ourselves staying involved in NASCAR” (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 3/26).

Car Of Tomorrow's Spoiler Adds New Real Estate For Sponsors

ROLE OF THE SPOILER: The Car of Tomorrow made its Nextel Cup debut this weekend, and ESPN.com’s David Newton noted 20 of the 43 cars in Sunday’s race in Bristol “had some form of sponsor or manufacturer sticker” on the end plate of the spoilers, which does not exist on other Nextel Cup cars. The No. 44 UPS Toyota driven by Dale Jarrett and owned by Michael Waltrip Racing carried a NAPA logo; the NAPA-sponsored car driven by Waltrip has not qualified for the last four races. Roush Fenway and Hendrick Motorsports cars had no logos on their end plates. Hendrick execs “are trying to decide whether to sell the space or give it to the primary sponsor.” Teams lost 10% of the hood with the new car, but NASCAR “stopped potential complaints by allowing logos to spill over onto the fenders” (ESPN.com, 3/25). The three Dodges fielded by Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates featured Target, Texaco-Havoline and Energizer branding on their plates. The team’s Managing Dir John Fernandez said of the real estate, “Right now we’re giving it to sponsors we already have on board, but who knows in the future?” (WASHINGTON POST, 3/24). See more on the Car of Tomorrow.

CAR ENTHUSIAST: Canadiens Owner and Liverpool co-Owner George Gillett Jr., who has been talking with Ray Evernham “about being a partner” in his racing organization, was scheduled to attend his second race with Evernham yesterday. Evernham, asked if Gillett’s attendance is a “sign of progress with discussions,” said, “He likes the races. As long as he likes the races and has his own airplane, I’ll keep getting him passes” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/24).